T.J.I.F.A.

THANK JESUS IT'S FRIDAY AGAIN!  
PASS IT ON... & ON...& ON...& ON.
NOVEMBER 14, 2003

READER'S DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE BEAUTIFUL PASSION PLAY GIVEN BY GREEN PASTURES CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES INC.  IT IS AN EXPERIENCE THAT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY WILL NOT WANT TO MISS.  CALL TICKET MASTER FOR YOUR SEATS AND THE TIMES....THE DATES ARE DECEMBER 5,6,& 7, 2003.  A GREAT THANKSGIVING TREAT!  THIS IS A FIVE STAR PRODUCTION.  TER  

FOR ALL OF YOUR HOLIDAY PRINTING GO TO FRANKLINS...COVINGTON HIGHWAY...YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED.
SUBJECT: THE HOLIDAY LETTER
READERS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, GIVE YOURSELF AWAY.  LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP AND HELP SOMEONE IN A NEW AND DIFFERENT WAY.  SHARE YOUR LIFE WITH THOSE WHO ARE UNABLE TO HAVE THE TRADITIONAL HOLIDAY THIS YEAR; THEN WRITE US HERE AT TJIFA AND LET US KNOW HOW YOU ENJOYED IT.  IT MAY BECOME PART OF THE NEWSLETTER  O.K.?  
NOTEWORTHY: LISTED ARE THE DATES FOR TJIFA SABBATICAL THIS YEAR.  
FRIDAY'S WORD: UNDAUNTED

IN THE MIRROR: S.L.C. SHARES SHORT STORY &HOLIDAY THOUGHTS

O TASTE AND SEE!  IT'S TIME FOR TURKEY!  STUFFED WITH VEGEES;  SUCCULENT; SAVORY; MOIST; LUSCIOUS AND PALATABLE.  PASS THE TURKEY  PLEASE!

LOOKING FORWARD

SEE YA NEXT TIME !

TER  

A  HOLIDAY LETTER
Dear TJIFA Reader,
It is important to me that you know how much you are appreciated, and   your comments are held  in high esteem, to all of us here at TJIFA.    It has been a challenging year, bringing TJIFA to you every week;  But knowing that you are out there waiting for the next note keeps us writing and exploring the possibilities of new adventures.  

The Holiday Season is well upon us, and you know that we take a winter break.  It will be a time of re-posturing to see what GOD has in store for the upcoming year.  

I want to let you personally know that you are the reason for TJIFA.  You are the wind in our sails and the footing for our climb.    We  know that many of you, we've  never met, but, your presence is known in the spirit.  How do I know?  Well, if the letter is late, or something happens on the Internet that you can't receive it...you call; or go to the WEB Site.  I appreciate you  very much.  You are a needed and respected part of this Newsletter.  

TJIFA Reader, please get involved with this Holiday Season.  You may not have family; then go to the many shelters and help feed the Homeless.  You may not have children; then go to the agencies that need help during this rushed time of year.  

That is one of the reasons  TJIFA closes  during this time, to realign ourselves and help someone else.  You'll be surprised at the great comfort that you will experience   when you take the time to help the young; the poor; the sick; the old; or those who are incarcerated.
Let us not look at what we don't  have, but let us give of ourselves to others in need.

There are places where you can go and feed babies, or the Elderly.  Usually during this season,  hospitals need volunteers to push patients through the corridors (maybe you can help).  Just planning to be around other people during this holiday time makes the giver and the receiver feel much better.  The most precious gift that we can give is the GIFT OF TIME.  Give someone a smile; or a hug; or a glass of water in Jesus' Name.

Money has been so exalted that when we see the word...Give...we automatically think of money.  Jesus didn't give money, He gave His LIFE.  His ways are not our ways nor are His thoughts our thoughts.  His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts.    Haven't you ever wanted to be a part of the team that BRINGS CHRISTMAS to someone?    I'm sure that you have.

Do you remember as a child...do you remember the money at Christmas Time?  Or do you remember the JOY of seeing people GIVE?  Your family GAVE to one another and maybe even others.  That's what made the Season so beautiful!  The Spirit of Giving is in the air during these Holiday Seasons more than any other time.  So get your life involved.  

Readers, I believe that the Enemy knows these two Holidays celebrate in an awesome way an event in which  he has no part. THANKSGIVING is aimed at thanking GOD for His many blessings; and Christmas is the celebration of the BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST.  (You know the Enemy's mad because he has no birthday!  No wonder he tries to kill, steal and destroy so many people at this time, with suicide, and   murder.) The Enemy knows that IF he can get your mind off of Thanking and Praising GOD; IF he can soak up your thoughts with evil past memories...he's Gotcha!  

I can almost hear you laughing about that birthday, but, you must remember that in order for  Jesus to enter into this world legally, He had to be BORN, and made of this earth.  Recall, that Satan stole man's rights; Jesus earned them with RIGHTEOUSNESS!  And through this Sacrifice we can all be called, the Righteousness of Jesus Christ. [2 Corinthians 5:21]

Let's GIVE someone the gift of GIVING this Holiday Season.  I am Looking Forward to hearing from you.  Drop me an E-Mail FAX or Snail Mail.  

See Ya Next Time!
TER  

NOTEWORTHY:
Readers this month TJIFA will take a two week break.  There will be no Newsletter on November 28, 2003 and December 5, 2003.  We'll see ya December 12, 2003 with our Christmas Special; then we will take a long sabbatical until January when we'll be back in circulation again.  

Please have a very special Holiday Season.  
TER
FRIDAY'S WORD: undaunted; un*daunt*ed-(adj.) having, or showing no fear when faced with something dangerous, difficult, or unknown.

IN THE MIRROR:
WELCOME TO HOLLAND

Printed in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Oct. 29, 1990 Dear Abby: Kingsley, E.P.

"I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability—to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel.  It's like this...

"When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip—to Italy.  You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans.  The Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian.  It's all very exciting.  

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives.  You pack your bags and off you go.  Several hours later, the plane lands.  The stewardess comes in and says, ‘Welcome to Holland.'

Holland?!?  You say.  What do you mean, Holland?  I signed up for Italy!  I'm supposed to be in Italy!  All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy.

But there's been a change in the flight plan.  They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.  

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease.  It's just a different place.  

So you must go out and buy new guide books.  And you must learn a whole new language.  And you will meet a whole new group of people you would have never met.

It's just a different place.   It's slower- paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy.  But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts.  

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.  And for the rest of your life, you will say, Yes, that's where I was  supposed to go. That's what I had planned.  

The pain of that will never, ever, ever go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.  

But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland."
****
In describing the experience of ‘raising a child with a disability,' it gives us an opportunity to gain some healthy perspective in any number of areas in our own life where we know something wasn't ‘just the way we planned it.'

What makes stories like,‘Welcome to Holland' so meaningful also is not only the fact of the similarity of disappointment in so many lives, but it lends a very real solution, and a wonderful outcome, (the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.)

In this month's Plain Truth Magazine, November/ December issue, Ray Albrektson writes a powerful article titled, "Skin Deep,"‘Surgical Strikes Against Enemy Lines.' He eloquently makes very lucid points in his in-depth article that  Christians can really take  advantage of. He talks of a widespread epidemic, in the world of, "Extreme Make-overs."

I'd like to share just a few excerpts with you, while hoping you will read the entire article for what it yields:

"If we base our hope for wholeness, and happiness on physical perfection, then we're setting forth on a track that is certain to end in a train wreck."

"...the sad truth is that all plastic, and cosmetic surgery ultimately disappoints."    

"We are systematically programed to be unhappy with the way we are, whether justified or not. While some of our media-induced body loathing can be alleviated with a better haircut, a few trips to the gym of a few outfits more stylish than relaxed-fit Khaki Dockers, there's no way for the average woman of man to metamorphose into  Barbie, or Ken."

"The pursuit of beauty is a race in which somebody keeps changing the location of the finish line. If we surgically alter ourselves to today's standards, you can be sure that the  standard will be different in a decade of two..."

Albrektson gave many interesting facts along with his article, that brings much consolation to anyone who may have thought about altering themselves  wrongly. It can  be unbecoming, and  is perhaps not what God wants for their life.

Where its true, all of us, if we look hard enough, and long enough, we'll be sure to find something about ourselves we could strongly disagree with. Christian friend, here's where we can give some relevant thought:

How God always looks upon the heart of man, while man is caught up with  appearance. [ref. 1Samuel16:7]

Jesus is speaking in Matthew 15:8; "This people draweth nigh unto me with their lips; but their heart is far from me." Meaning there's nothing greater in which we can serve God than the very heart He gave unto us. He won't be fooled.

In Romans 12:2; we learn; "And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."  The evidence is just waiting on you, to discover its value.

When I think about stories like, Welcome to Holland, or read forceful articles such as Skin Deep; I see that its through these dimensions, God shows us how life really is,(in total perspective,) and also how life can be.

We're trying to share with you, God's people, a different voice; a different mind-set; a different perception of yourself; and a distinct way you can visualize who you are in Christ Jesus, that you might attain a closer walk with Him, during this Holiday season, and a lifetime thereafter.

The beauty, the  perfection, and adaptability  that God has  given unto mankind, is unparalleled by anything this world ever has to offer. You can bet your Eternal Life on
it!                    S.L.C.


O TASTE AND SEE!

ROASTED TURKEY

INGREDIENTS:

WHOLE TURKEY   YOUR CHOICE OF SIZE; THAWED AND WASHED; WITH GIBLETS REMOVED.  
ONION   CUT INTO QUARTERS.
POTATO   1 MEDIUM SIZE CUT INTO 1/4 LARGE PIECES.    
BABY CARROTS   ABOUT4. .
CELERY   APPROXIMATELY 4 PIECES CUT 3 TO 4 INCHES LONG.   
GREEN PEPPER   1/4 SLICED VERTICALLY.  
APPLE   ½ CUT IN QUARTERS.  
GARLIC SEASONING; POULTRY SEASONING SALT AND PEPPER  (OPTIONAL).  
OLIVE OIL   ENOUGH TO RUB ONTO SURFACE OF TURKEY.  

DIRECTIONS:  
PRE HEAT OVEN TO 350 F.  
AFTER THAWING,  WASHING AND REMOVING GIBLETS IN PACKAGE FROM YOUR TURKEY, RUB OLIVE OIL OVER THE OUTSIDE OF THE TURKEY'S  SKIN.  (DON'T BE HEAVY HANDED WITH THE OIL YOU MAY ALSO USE VEGETABLE OIL OR BUTTER - YOUR CHOICE).  
PLACE OILED TURKEY INTO SUITABLE SIZED ROASTING PAN.  MAKE SURE THAT THE TURKEY SITS DOWN INTO THE PAN AND THAT IT COVERS MOST OF THE TURKEY.  YOU MUST ALLOW ROOM FOR JUICES SO THAT THEY DON'T OVER FLOW THE ROASTING PAN.  
-PLACE ALL VEGETABLES INTO A BOWL AND SPRINKLE THEM WITH YOUR SEASONINGS (YOUR CHOICE. WHAT DO YOU LIKE?)  
-AFTER THE VEGETABLES ARE NICELY SEASONED, BEGIN TO STUFF THEM INTO THE CAVITY OF THE TURKEY.  PUT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN INTO THE CAVITY.
-TURN THE TURKEY ON ITS BREAST; COVER WITH LID OR SECURELY WITH ALUMINUM FOIL.  YOU MAY USE ALUMINUM FOIL TO KEEP THE VEGETABLES IN THE CAVITY OR TIE THE LEGS WITH COOKING STRING.  
COOK THIS TURKEY ON ITS BREAST UNTIL ABOUT 2 HOURS BEFORE IT HAS FINISHED, THEN TURN IT OVER.  NOW, YOUR TURKEY WILL BROWN A DELICIOUS BROWN AND THE BREAST PORTIONS WILL BE VERY JUICY.  

VEGETABLES ARE USED IN THIS RECIPE INSTEAD OF STUFFING BECAUSE VEGETABLES HOLD MOISTURE AND THE BREAST COOKS EXTREMELY MOIST AND WELL FLAVORED WITH THE COMBINATION OF THESE VEGETABLES.  

REMOVE THE TURKEY WHEN IT'S DONE AND...ENJOY!         TER